Choosing Members of a Preppers Group

by: contributor

Recently, a Prepper in
the Tampa, Florida area learned a hard lesson in
choosing members for his Preppers group. Many of the
newest members had prior felonies which prohibited them
from owning or possessing firearms. Further, this
Florida Prepper engaged in questionable conduct such as
building pipe bombs and making veiled threats against
law enforcement. When one of his new members of
the group was arrested on unrelated charges, they turned
snitch and wore a wire during the Preppers group
meetings. The end result: the leader of the preppers
group is going to prison while the snitch walks free.

The debate will always rage as to
whether you should be a member of a preppers group or a lone wolf
prepper. Regardless of how you define your preppers group, there are
common issues when determining who to let into "The Club". It is a
private membership which should always practice
Operational Security, OPSEC, due to the sensitive information
everyone in the group has access to. You need to give careful
consideration to the people becoming part of your group. In general,
this is not an easy topic, as there are no fast and simple rules. The
average human being is a complex bag of emotions and logic, to which
fields of science have been dedicated to understanding. Therefore, it is
not surprising when the person you thought to be a stable individual
turns out to be not much more than a basket case. Below is some
information to consider when looking for group members.

Choosing members of a
preppers group is a lot like courting; you cannot really
tell if they are right for you from just a few dates.
Sure, we've all heard of love at first sight. However,
given time, a person's true colors shine through. Being
part of a group is not much different. There will be
differences, arguments, heated debates, betrayals, and
various other emotional conflicts. All of which need to
be addressed, particularly since this group is supposed
to be like a second family to you. One very important
aspect to keep in mind is what happens when someone
stops being a group member. Though it may seem like many
people would make a good group member, most will turn
out to be incompatible with you and your group. Some
people are very good at hiding who they really are and,
even after knowing someone for years, finding out their
true self may come as a complete surprise.

One thing, which you
need to keep in mind at all times, is what the
consequences are when someone stops being a member of
the preppers group. They may get kicked out of the group
or they may decide to leave voluntarily. Either way, it
becomes a security risk when a member departs. Ideally,
before someone becomes a member, you have done your due
diligence and made sure, as much as is reasonably
possible, the person is honorable and poses as little
risk as possible, both during and after their
membership. Unfortunately, this is not always possible
and you will eventually have people whom pose a risk to
you and your group.

When looking at group
preparedness, remember that a long-term crisis scenario
will require large amounts of people labor for survival.
Therefore, unless you are creating a specific
paramilitary team, no one should be automatically
discounted because of any disabilities or shortcomings
(such as having a lack of gear). Look at each
prospective member on a case-by-case basis, weighing
their strengths and weaknesses, keeping in mind everyone
has something to contribute, and find those who will fit
into your group. Finding group members is a tedious
process, but the gains accomplished by having a group of
people you can depend on is immeasurable.